How to single women dress on their own?!

[Happilyobtuse]

I bought a dress to wear for an event. It is a black tie event and the dress is a gown with the zip at the back. I have just realised I have no way of getting dressed for this event and leaving the hotel without help from another person! The event is in a different city from where I live. Made me think, how do single women get dressed when designers keep putting zips at the back! I have a few dresses with zips at the side but the one I want to wear for this event has a zip at the back. I am totally stumped. If I was at home my husband or kids would help. Wise mumsnetters give me a suggestion! Please don’t say change the dress! I love this one!

I thought the same till this dress came along! The zip on this is harder to grasp and pull. I can get it up quite a bit but the last bit is tricky I think because the dress is asymmetrical. Hope lipsy will take note and make it a side zip in future.

To be honest I can’t see the issue unless the dress is too small/doesn’t fit. If you’re having to awkwardly suck in/ contort your skin to stay in a certain position to get the zip up kind of fit - then I understand. But then again, that’s a poor choice of dress to take when travelling alone.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a dress that I can’t do up.

However if you genuinely need help then just call the hotel reception, I’m sure they could get someone to pop over and help. I’ve called them for worse.

There’s probably a seam that it’s getting caught on?

I read about a trick of running clear nail polish across the snag to get the zipper to fasten smoothly if it’s snagging on something? But you might want to research that exactly, I’ve never done it myself.

You know wetsuits have pullers on the back zip. It’s totally a recognised problem to struggle with back zips on tight clothing.

I think it’s often more of a problem to get out of a very fitted dress at the end of the evening when you’re tired and possibly tipsy.

is the dress very fitted? If so it will be difficult to do up even with a zip pull as the ends need to be placed together to pull zip up. Best bet is to ask someone else to help either at the hotel or at the event

This reminds of the Insta from Jane Fonda after the red carpet of LA Museum of Modern Art Gala.
Her comment was
‘Here’s me the next morning. I couldn’t get the dress unzipped so I slept in it. I never wanted a husband in my life until now.’
Apologies I can’t put in a proper link - it’s early & Insta & Mumsnet App are on different devices…

We single women just use one of our tentacles to zip up a dress - although we tend to wear trousers to cover the scales our skin is covered with.

Ive got loads of clothes I cant put on myself. Very very tight cuffs with small, thin mother of pearl buttons that will not, refuse to, go through their holes, difficult to do 2 handed, impossible to do one handed

Bracelets I cant put on myself

A couple of tops with very tight, small buttons right at the nape of the neck, again very difficult, almost impossible to get those buttons through the hole.

Agree!

I’ve turned up at events at work unzipped under my coat and asked colleagues

either that or go ask at hotel reception

A long piece of ribbon threaded through the zip and back on itself (so the two ends are both in your hand). Pull the zip up, let go of the ribbon and pull it out. Getting undressed is always easier but you can reverse the process!

It’s so annoying cos you’re often too far in to the dress/zip to easily take it off again and change!

Exactly this. Also a good reason to try before you buy, or return something you can't manage.🤔

Love that Jane Fonda post. OP - how are you going to get out of it??

If the style allows, I guess you could leave a ribbon tied onto the zip and tuck it in like you can do with a wetsuit zip pull. Probably wouldn’t work for a very fitted dress but might for some garments.

I can do the one hand over the shoulder, other hand upwards and hold hands one way round easily, but can’t quite get my hands to touch the other way. My right shoulder is (and always has been) a tad less flexible than the left so won’t go up quite as far so although I’m right handed I do behind the back manipulations more with the left.

The Jane Fonda thing was brilliant.

I also thought this..... until I had 2 daughters who both cant join their hands behind their backs putting one arm over shoulders and the other from the bottom 🤣

I cant do that. Not sure Im that unsual. OH cant do it either but he doesnt wear many dresses so he's ok

I would ask someone if I couldn't manage the zip myself. There is loads of handy tips and tricks online.
I can get a zip up, getting the zip down is a different matter.

I have no shame about asking people on reception to help and once when I had booked an AirBnB and totally forgotten that I’d planned to wear a corset got to the event wearing my coat and waylaid an obliging colleague to tighten the corset strings.

we totally bonded over the experience, I even got to know his wife a bit as when told her how ‘surprisingly unsexy’ doing up a corset had turned out to be she had asked for photos 😆 of the outfit to confirm how it was not a one person job.

she and I laugh about it each time we meet up at the Christmas party

I just don't buy anything with a back zip.

Yeah my girls then started asking everyone of they could, and turns out the majority can't.
But there are loads of things my kids can do that I cant. All of us are unique ❤️

Yep, this is what I do.

Similar process for applying sun lotion when on holiday.

Good motivation for staying flexible!

Mrsmichaelrose & Livelyrose & others

Heard of arthritis? All ages can be affected.

I’m hyper mobile so this is easy for me!

There aren’t many advantages so I just take it!